Five rookie career mistakes and how to avoid them
A college grad 鈥� let鈥檚 call him Paul 鈥� was eager to make a great impression in his first job. But when he inevitably made his first mistake, he couldn鈥檛 take the letdown in stride and it cost him his job.
During the interview process, Paul had been well-spoken and had seemed motivated to start his career in sales, says Cheri Spets Farmer, a longtime manager and current digital and sales training consultant. One day something didn鈥檛 go as expected and Paul took it hard. The next day he didn鈥檛 come to work and he didn鈥檛 call. Farmer reached out to Paul, who explained how crushed he was in a singular line 鈥� 鈥淚 just had to stay home and soak in the jets.鈥�
Your聽isn鈥檛 likely to be smooth sailing, especially right away. You鈥檙e bound to make missteps and slip-ups while you get your bearings. But the one thing you definitely don鈥檛 want to do is be seen as a 鈥淧aul.鈥�
鈥淭he fact that he would even say that spoke more than just the words themselves. It said that he really didn鈥檛 have a feel for what his role was,鈥� Farmer says. 鈥淚 think he just didn鈥檛 understand how important he was or that the other team members were relying on him.鈥�
Paul is an extreme example of how not to act when you make an error. Farmer says Paul鈥檚 most avoidable mistake was that he dealt inappropriately with rejection. In your first job, here are five common rookie mistakes and how to avoid them.
Mistake No. 1: Being too shy to speak up because you鈥檙e 鈥榯he new guy鈥�
Just because you鈥檙e new doesn鈥檛 mean you can鈥檛 have an opinion. That lesson was learned the hard way by聽Tara Clapper, technical editor at SEMrush and senior editor at The Geek Initiative. Clapper says at her first job as a sales rep at a self-publishing company, she was afraid to speak up because it was an entry-level position.
鈥淟ater in life I鈥檝e learned that no matter what your position is, in most companies if you speak up that鈥檚 how you become a leader, get ahead and get promoted,鈥� Clapper says. 鈥淚 was holding myself back.鈥�
Speaking up doesn鈥檛 mean talking just to hear your own voice. It鈥檚 about making your questions and ideas known to co-workers and managers. Any time you can add real value to a conversation, you鈥檙e showcasing who you are in the workplace.
Mistake No. 2: Forgetting names (and missing out on new connections)
If you鈥檙e the type who goes to a party, meets someone and then five seconds later can鈥檛 remember his or her name, you have a big task ahead of you in the workplace.
鈥淭he biggest challenge is not so much that they鈥檝e forgotten the name, but when they find themselves avoiding situations because they鈥檝e forgotten a person鈥檚 name,鈥� says Keith Rollag, associate professor and chair of the management division at Babson College as well as author of 鈥淲hat to Do When You鈥檙e New: How to Be Confident, Comfortable, and Successful in New Situations.鈥� 鈥淚t can limit your ability to create effective relationships in the workplace.鈥�
Some simple tricks for remembering names include:
- Pay close attention when you鈥檙e introduced to someone.
- Meet and repeat his or her name when you鈥檙e introduced.
- Write the name down as soon as possible.
- Make name associations or connections.
- Follow up an introduction with a professional social media request to increase name repetition.
Mistake No. 3: Misunderstanding business goals and how you contribute to them
Many young hires don鈥檛 know what their聽聽or aren鈥檛 aware of their environment, says Bram Daly, client services manager for talent acquisition company Alexander Mann Solutions.
鈥淎 lot of times, new employees are in essence focused on themselves and the experience they鈥檙e having. They do not really understand that they鈥檙e part of a bigger organization and they鈥檙e not aligning with their boss鈥檚 priorities,鈥� Daly says.
You鈥檙e not going to have your finger on the pulse of the company all at once, but you can get on the right track early through observation. Daly suggests taking the first few weeks to determine the answers to these questions:
- What is my job for?
- What do my superiors want to see from me?
- What are my goals?
- What does success look like?
Listening and being able to answer these questions can help you understand the part you 聽play within the scope of the entire company.
Mistake No. 4: Acting too young and giving off the wrong impression
The last thing you want to do when you鈥檙e young in the workplace is to betray your age. It has more to do with your conduct than how old you actually are, experts say. Here are a few immature moves you want to refrain from making at work:
Being overeager.聽You might want to stand out from the crowd, but being too eager for work is the easiest way to spark animosity in co-workers. You have to walk the line between working hard and trying too hard, says Jason Carney, senior professional in human resources at professional employer organization WorkSmart Systems Inc. in Indianapolis. Starting a new job, Carney adds, is 鈥渢he perfect opportunity to blend in, learn how to work with different generations and understand how people view you.鈥�
Getting distracted.聽It鈥檚 tempting to check your phone or even stream a TV show when you鈥檙e between tasks or finished with an assignment. But when you鈥檙e early in your career it鈥檚 especially important to show you鈥檙e a hard worker.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e seen on Facebook or Twitter or on your phone all the time it鈥檚 a big problem,鈥� says Jacqueline Berman, a senior account manager at recruitment firm WinterWyman in Boston. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not being paid to have fun; you鈥檙e being paid to work. People don鈥檛 realize how big of a deal it is.鈥�
Sending emails with errors.聽If your grammar is less than stellar or your writing is too informal in emails, you may not be taken seriously at work. 鈥淓very move you make in an office reflects on you,鈥� Berman says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have proper punctuation if you鈥檙e addressing someone professionally, it makes you look too casual.鈥�
Posting inappropriately on social media.聽You don鈥檛 want your聽聽to become the topic of the day at the watercooler, especially among your more seasoned colleagues, Berman says.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e young and you haven鈥檛 proved yourself yet, but your public profile has a picture of you smoking a joint, it doesn鈥檛 look good,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou need to maintain your professionalism inside and outside of the office.鈥�
Mistake No. 5: Disregarding the office food chain
Everyone you work with is accountable to somebody else. So when you鈥檙e doing work that you don鈥檛 enjoy, don鈥檛 understand or think is just plain stupid, remember this:
鈥淭he manager isn鈥檛 trying to hogtie you with busy work. It鈥檚 usually been asked of them up the line,鈥� Farmer says. 鈥淓ven someone who owns the company reports to somebody.鈥�
In your first job, you have the choice to let work crush your spirit or provide reassurance that this is what paying your dues is all about. Farmer says, 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 understand why something is happening or why you鈥檙e being asked to do something, even if you don鈥檛 like it, you can still have peace with it.鈥�
Anna Helhoski is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website.
